


A Ningyo's Tale

by Metariolu



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: characters are not human unless stated, meaning paps and co are still monsters, mermaid au, mermaid sans, minor OCs - Freeform, more tags as this goes on, sans and paps are not brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-29 01:47:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15062387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metariolu/pseuds/Metariolu
Summary: After a call from Gerson, the staff at the marine wildlife rescue center have another patient to tend to. But can Papyrus and the other volunteers handle the job, or is this one doomed from the start?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [a fishy story](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12435438) by [okamiisadog](https://archiveofourown.org/users/okamiisadog/pseuds/okamiisadog). 



       Gurson couldn’t believe his luck. One minute the skies were clear and the ocean calm, next minute storm clouds popped up and the ocean was throwing the biggest fit he had ever seen. It also didn’t help that most of his crew were whining about not turning around. “ _Guess this is where hiring humans may have been a mistake_ ,” he sighed as he kept the boat on course. That was one of the reasons why Gurson even went out on the open ocean today. A little storm wouldn’t do much to a turtle monster, or even a human if they just calmed down. Another was to get their net. It had been at least two days since they pulled it up and he was expecting a large catch of yellowfin tuna this time. After all, they had tied barbed fishing hooks to the net last time they pulled it up to make it harder for the fish to get away.

 

        They sailed for what seemed like ages before he heard one of his crewmen shout, “Marker buoy off the port side!” Sure enough, when Gurson looked to the left side of the boat, his saw a bright yellow buoy standing out amongst the violent waves. Turning the wheel hard, it seemed almost like an eternity before they could reach the plastic beacon. “ _Alright boys_ ,” he yelled over the thrashing waves, “ _let’s get this net then we’ll turn back for the day!_ ” Gurson shook his head when he saw that the promise of going home for the day was enough to get his workers to move as if they were saving the world. Nevertheless, they pulled the net on deck in record time and started to move the fish to the lower levels, but just as he started to head for shore he heard one of his workers yell, “Captain! You gotta see this!” Curious, Gurson locked the wheel and made his way to the main deck, “ _What is it you going on about?_ ” All the crewmen moved out of his way and just pointed to the pile of fish. He was confused for half a second until he saw a shark tail poking out from the side. Or at least what was left of one. It was mangled and full of holes, both from their net and something else. He moved some of the fish out of the way to check to see if the shark was dead only to make a shocking discovery. The shark tail didn’t belong to a shark, but a mermaid, a skeleton mermaid to be exact. It must have tried to get some of the fish before getting caught in the net. And catching fish just might have been the least of its worries if the markings on its bones are to be believed. Having to move must have been misery, let alone catching food. “ _Poor thing_ ,” he whispered, “ _At least we know you’re alive_.”

  
        It was at this moment he heard what his crew was whispering, “What should we do with it?” “I heard those things cause bad luck when caught. I say we throw it back.” “Have you taking a good look at it!? It can barely swim, let alone live out here! It needs help!” “It NEEDS to go back in the water! I’m not being hexed just because you feel bad for it!” “Are you nuts!? Do you know how much something like this is worth!? We could make a fortune if we sell it to some rich snobs as a pet. Maybe we wouldn’t have to work for Old Mister Turtle here.” He has heard enough, “ _Alright boys, “Old Mister Turtle” says get this fish below deck. As for the mermaid, move it to a cabin. We need to get it to a marine rescue center if we don’t want it to die_ .” As the crew scattered to do their tasks, Gurson had to make a quick phone call.  It didn’t take long before they picked up, “ **Sup. old timer?** ” He couldn’t help but chuckle at their usual greeting, “ _And hello to you too, Undyne. Listen, what’s the number of that marine center you work at?_ ” She had to think about that for a second, “ **Um, (XXX)XXX-XXXX it think? I’m not sure, but I’m there right now. What you need them for?** ” “ _Well_ ,” he started, “ _there’s an injured...something on my boat and I need them to meet me at the docks to come get it. It doesn’t look like it has much time left._ ” He couldn’t see her, but he could definitely hear the determination and urgency in her voice, “ **Okay, Mr. Gurson, I’ll let them know to meet you there! You still sail that old hunk of metal, right?** ” “ _It may be old, but it gets the job done!_ ” he countered. “ **I’ll take that as a yes,** ” she said quickly, “ **Okay, I’ll talk to you later! Bye! *slam* HEY ALPHYS!** ” then the line went dead. Gurson chuckled and shook his head. Leave it to Undyne to get things done the loudest way possible. At least he knows that they’ll be waiting for him when they get to the docks as he raised anchor and headed back to shore. He only hopes that they make it there before the mermaid becomes dust and seafoam.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to let you know, Undyne will always speak in bold, Gerson will always speak in italics, Alphys will always stutter. Every other minor character will speak normally.

        Alphys almost dropped her paperwork when Undyne kicked down the door. Just as she was about to complain that they had to replace the door again, Undyne had told her what was going on. “ **I know, I know, door number five didn’t last long, but this is important!** ” she shouted, “ **Gurson apparently caught something that he wasn’t supposed to catch and now he needs you guys to meet him at the docks to get it! He drives an old  green diesel fishing dragger with blue masts and white sails! We gotta get there quick or else the thing’s gonna die!** ” And who cares about the paperwork now? It definitely wasn‘t the six or so volunteers to the rescue truck with the equipment boxes. She knows that their boss was going to be upset when she had to turn that stuff in with all the footprints on it, but she was sure he wouldn’t be too upset when they get the injured animal Gerson had back to the center.

 

        After about ten minutes of driving to the docks, Alphys and the team had to wait about another hour before Gerson’s ship pulled into port. Once his crew dropped anchor, Alphys told her team to get the stretcher before climbing on board. Gerson was waiting patiently for her  while she made sure she wouldn’t fall backwards off the boat. Once she was steady she spoke, “S-So, uh, Mr. Gerson, w-where is the animal?” “ _ It’s back this way. We decided to put it in one of the cabins to keep it safe while we finished doin’ what we’re doin’ _ ,” he said as he motioned her to follow him. They walked fairly quickly and stopped at the first cabin door. Gerson opened it, but all Alphys saw was someone sleeping in one of the beds. As they got closer to him, Alphys became more surprised. It was a skeleton sleeping there and, by the looks of it, was not in a good shape. He was deathly pale and had scratches covering him. Or at least what she could see of him. His lower half was covered by the blanket, but even that was wet by what looked to be a mix of water and magic. In other words, he looked as if he was a few days away from falling. “M-M-Mr. Gerson!” she whispered as loud as she could, “I d-don’t mean to b-be rude, but he needs a healer! Not a b-bunch of fish fanatics!” Gerson chuckled and grabbed the edge of the blanket covering him, “ _ No. I think a bunch of fish nerds would be just what he needs. _ ” Just as she was about to retort, Gerson pulled back the covers to reveal the skeleton’s lower half. She gasped as she looked over the skeleton’s tail, “Oh My God! How did this happen?!” Gerson sighed, “ _ I’m not too sure myself. All I know is that it got caught in my net and was dragged out of the ocean with a heap of fish. I can only assume that it was simply trying to get some food when it caught tangled up in it. _ ” Alphys nodded, “T-That could be it. A-Afterall, I-I don’t think it w-would go near a n-net if it had a choice.” She shook her head, “Gah! What am I doing!? N-Now is not the t-time to be making theories!” she waved down the hall just as her team got the stretcher on board, “O-Over here, g-guys!” 

 

        They carefully loaded the skeleton onto the stretcher and quickly made their way back to the truck before Alphys realized something. Even if half of him was shark, the other half was still skeleton, a breed of monster that was said to have died out a long time ago. How were they suppose to know how to take proper care of him? Even after researching skeletons out of curiosity, the only thing she was able to learn is that they can hide their SOULs easier the more magic they have. And, seeing how Alphys can at least tell which area his SOUL might be just by looking at him, this one doesn’t have much magic left. How were they going to fix that if they don’t even know how they eat!? “W-Wait,” she whispered as she pulled out her phone, “M-Maybe there’s still a chance.” She scrolled through her phone and pressed the button to call, “Please pick up! Please pick up! Please pick-!” “HELLO?” a voice chimed in over the phone. “Oh, t-thanked the stars you picked up!” she all but shouted, “I-I know this is a v-very short n-notice, b-but I n-needs you to come to the center r-right away! W-We are desperately going to need your h-help!” She could already hear him grab his keys and slam his door as he responded, “FEAR NOT, DEAR ALPHYS! FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE THERE SOON!” The line went dead as the truck went through the last tunnel before the marine center. With Papyrus on the case, their new friend just might stand a chance.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh! And Papyrus will speak in caps. Sorry for not saying it at the beginning :3


	3. Chapter 3

        After he hung up after the call with Alphys, Papyrus left his house and took off to the marine center faster than he ever did before. He wasn’t even planning of going there today because he had to catch up on some homework. After all, he couldn’t get his degree in marine biology if he didn’t do the work. But this time was different. He could feel it. If he was just called in to help watch an animal or to help with unloading a supply truck, Alphys would have just told him. No, this was an emergency that no one but Papyrus could handle. As he got on the interstate, he only hoped that driving 3 miles over the speed limit wouldn’t get him pulled over.

 

        After driving a good 30 minutes, he quickly parked his car and rushed into the employee area. It was a little passed sundown when he got there, but the lack of light didn’t stop him from getting to the isolation tank room. Once he got near, he saw dozens of monster and human workers crowding around the door, Undyne preventing them from fully going in. Since it was an emergency, it was understandable that only a handful of workers were let into the room, but he couldn’t understand why everyone was standing around when there was other work that needed to be done. This has never happened before, even when they rescued extremely endangered creatures. Whatever they rescued this time must be something very special.

 

        He didn’t have to much longer to think before Undyne spotted him, “ **Hey, Paps, hurry up! We don’t exactly have all the time in the world here!”** He nodded and quickly made his way inside, apologizing when he had to move a few stubborn people out of the way. Once the doors to the room closed, Papyrus took a moment to take in the scenario in front of him. Most of the volunteers were running around carrying documents and medical equipment, some were pouring a clear healing solution into the tank, and Alphys was sitting next to an operating table holding a syringe filled with what looked to be painkillers. She took a break from that when she saw Papyrus and beckoned him closer, “T-Thank goodness you’re here! I n-n-need your help injecting this. I’m, uh, n-not sure how to do it in t-this situation...” He quickly made his way to her side, only pausing for a moment when he realized what was lying on the operation table. It was the first time Papyrus ever saw another skeleton, let alone a skeleton hybrid. It was no wonder why Alphys called him specifically. He carefully took the syringe from her, “NO WORRIES, DR. ALPHYS. I CAN HANDLE THIS. WHY DON’T YOU GET THE OTHER SUPPLIES READY? WE’LL NEED TO DO THIS QUICKLY.” Alphys nodded and went to one of the other volunteers to get the equipment they needed, leaving Papyrus alone with the mermaid. As he injected the mermaid with the serum, the mermaid twitched slightly, obviously able to feel the slight pain but unable to wake up from its exhausted state. He took this time to look it over. The mermaid’s tail was a dull gray, but there was an underline blue tint to it. This discoloration was clearly the byproduct of malnutrition and low magic reserves. The state of its tail told even more of its story. It was bent in more than a few places and covered in cuts and holes. To anyone looking at it, it would be clear that the mermaid was attacked and used a large portion of its magic to defend itself before escaping. But, something seemed off to Papyrus. The holes in its tail were random, each one varying in width and depth and distance away from each other. If this was just a normal predator’s attack, the holes would have been arranged in a more organized fashion and the cuts would have been limited to only a few areas instead of covering it from head to fin. So, why? What happened to it? What could have caused injuries like this? Papyrus was so lost in thought that he hadn’t noticed that Alphys had already started the operation. That was, until he noticed that the mermaid’s twitching started to become more frequent. Seconds later, a pale blue light began to shine behind closed eyelids. All signs that the mermaid was starting to wake up. “ALPHYS GET BACK!” was all that Papyrus could say before the mermaid’s eyes snapped open, and orb of blue light pouring from its left eye like liquid fire. Papyrus pull Alphys away from the mermaid just when it began to thrash, clearly scared and trying to find a way out. Other volunteers, even Undyne, rushed in to pin the mermaid down, but it only made the mermaid thrash harder. Papyrus knew that it would undo all the stitches Alphys had made if this kept up. Papyrus wrapped his arms around the mermaid’s arms and torso, careful not to hurt it but firm enough to keep it from trying to claw him or any of the other volunteers. Once he got a good enough hold he shouted, “EVERYONE, WE NEED TO GET IT TO THE TANK! QUICKLY!” After a simple nod from everyone, they rushed the still thrashing mermaid to the isolation tank and tossed it in. It hit the water a bit harder than what they were hoping for, but it seemed to be okay since it darted down to the bottom of the tank. Everyone stood at the edge of the tank, looking down at the water to see if the mermaid was still there. While they couldn’t see where it was, they could definitely hear it. All they could hear in the room was the sound of the electric lights, the water, and hissing coming up from the waves. Papyrus motioned for everyone to leave the room. Afterall, it sound like the mermaid would be prepared to fight anything in its desperate state. 

  
        Once everyone was out of the room and the door shut behind them, Papyrus and everyone involved were bombarded with questions. Most of them were just “What did it look like?” or “What happened?” but the biggest question that caught Papyrus’s attention was, “What happens now?” Before he could formulate an answer, Alphys spoke up, “W-Well, uh, I t-think it w-would be best to, uh, leave it alone for t-the rest of the day. We haven’t finished p-patching up its injuries, b-but, um, it w-would be d-d-dangerous to sedate it o-or fish it back up again. We d-don’t want to, uh, stress it out t-too much.” Everyone seemed to nod and fan out to their work once again leaving Papyrus, Alphys, and Undyne still standing there. This somewhat awkward silence was broken by Undyne, “ **Hey, there’s been something bugging’ me for a bit.** ” They both looked at her, “W-What’s that?”  **“You said that you didn’t want to sedate that thing again, right? That means you did that before the thing flipped out,”** the confusion in Undyne’s voice was almost tangible,  **“But if that’s the case, how the hell did it wake up so fast? I’m no fish scientist, but even I know that that thing got up too quick.”** It took Alphys a moment to process the information, but it made perfect sense. Any other animal would have been under the drug’s effect for at least an hour, but this one woke up after a few minutes. “MAYBE,” Papyrus started, “IT’S MORE MONSTER THAN WE REALIZED. AFTER ALL, A DRUG LIKE THAT WOULD WORK ON NORMAL HUMANS AND ANIMALS, BUT IT’LL BURN THROUGH A MONSTER’S BLOODSTREAM IN A MATTER OF MINUTES.” That also meant that the mermaid could feel the pain that they were trying to prevent. Alphys seemed to realize it too because she started muttering things to herself like, “Stupid stupid stupid!” and “I knew I should have grabbed a stronger one!” Papyrus had to say something before her train of thought could start spiraling even more out of control, “WELL, THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT TONIGHT. WE SHOULD RETURN HOME AND GIVE THE MERMAID A CHANCE TO REST.” They both nodded in agreement and Papyrus made his way home. It was late and he needed to get some rest for tomorrow, but sleep evaded him. His mind kept going back to the center. Back to that mermaid. Would it be okay by itself? And, how come it was the only other skeleton he had ever seen? Were they really that rare, or were they underwater this whole time and he was the odd one out? Papyrus booted up his computer. If he couldn’t sleep, he should at least to some research to see what he could do to help. Who knows, maybe he could figure out more about himself along the way.   
  



	4. Chapter 4

        Papyrus spent hours digging up information. Even when he went to his early morning classes, he spent the minutes in between looking up different information. The diets of sharks, some history of skeletons, migration routes of different aquatic life, and legends on mermaids. There wasn’t too many legends focus solely on mermaids, but from what he gathered there’s at least two types. One type lives in the oceans surrounding Europe down to Africa, most known for luring people to their deaths for reasons unknown. The other was found in mostly Japanese waters and were much different than their European counterparts. The ones in Japan didn’t seem interested in luring anyone to their death. Rather, it seemed that most of the trouble they cause is when they’re pulled up out of the water. When a fisherman pulls them up, they bring bad storms with them. Most of the fishermen throw them back, but those brave enough to keep and eat them could gain remarkable longevity. It made him sick to his nonexistent stomach that some people would hunt them down and risk destroying coastal cities just to have youth. The fact that the mermaid they rescued was part skeleton, one of the most powerful species of monsters according to his research, made this just that much worse. But, that still didn’t answer all his questions. Since mermaids normally travel in pods, why was this one caught alone? What kind of predator could have attacked it? Which type of mermaid was it? Why was this mermaid the only other living skeleton Papyrus has ever seen? Those questions distracted him in most of his classes, but made him even more eager for his shift at the marine center.

 

        When Papyrus got to the center, everyone seemed fine. Well, those who weren’t near the isolation tank room. No, for some reason they seemed A LOT more tense and anxious than anyone in the center. Curious, Papyrus approached a cat monster coworker who was pacing next to the do, “EXCUSE ME, BUT WHAT ARE-?” He didn’t get to finish his sentence before his coworker shouted, “Thank the STARS! You’re here! If I had to spend another minute waiting here, I would have DUSTED!” he shouted at the door, “Hey, David! Papyrus’s here!” His human coworker, David, busted through the doors faster than you could scream “FREEDOM!” and looked like he could just hug Papyrus for just existing, “Thank whatever god sent you here, because I don’t think I would have lasted another second with that thing!” he grabbed and shook his hand once, “Good luck, man!” and bolted. Well, THAT was concerning, but Papyrus wasn’t worried. Nope. Not him. He was too great to be concerned with such a vague warning. The only reason he found himself taking a small step back away from the door was because he… left his puzzle running?? Yeah, that’s what he did.

 

        He was broken out of his thought when someone placed their hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Undyne grinning at him, “ **What’s the matter, Pap? David and Burgerpants scare you?** ” He shook his head, “OF COURSE NOT! I MERELY REMEMBERED I LEFT MY PUZZLE RUNNING!” She gave him a sort of “Oh really?” look and it didn’t take long for Papyrus to sigh out, “OKAY. MAYBE I WAS A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT THEY SAID. BUT ONLY A LITTLE! IT WOULD JUST BE NICE TO KNOW WHAT I’M GETTING INTO.” Undyne nodded in understanding. Since she took self defense classes when she was younger, she hated going into any situation blind. Doesn’t stop her most of the time, but she does hate it. “ **Okay. I think I overheard some of the other volunteers talk about a progress report on the mermaid in the observation deck. How about you go read up on the mermaid there before you go into the same room with it?** ” Papyrus paused for a moment before nodding and going on his way. 

 

        When he got to the observation deck, it was darker than he thought it would be. Since the observation deck had windows looking into the tank in the isolation room, most of the light came from there. It wasn’t a good sign when all of the windows were closed. After closing the door and putting his stuff down, Papyrus opened the window closest to the work table for light. He found the reports Undyne was talking about, pulled up a chair, and started reading what the other volunteers had to face today.

  
  
  


‘6:00 am

Once entering the room, we didn’t hear any sound from the water. We guess the mermaid must still be sleeping. I had one of the other guys go to the observation deck to get a better look at it. The others are getting the equipment ready to finish the operation. The sooner we can get it’s tail stitched up, the better.

  
  


6:30 am

Things went south really quick. Not only was the mermaid not asleep as we hoped, but it tried to pull drown David before he was ready to go in after it. If it wasn’t for the mermaid’s injuries, David might not have gotten away in time. After that, we tried to see if we could get it to come back up, but it started hissing again. We decided it would be best to postpone the operation and get someone else to try it again later. 

  
  


7:30 am

We decided that the reason why the mermaid might have been so upset might be caused by its low magic reserves. It feels threatened because of its injuries and inability to use magic as a defiance. Though, the problem was figuring out what it ate. We just threw in a bucket of  mackerel and some kelp and went to the observation deck to see which one it will eat.

  
  


8:30 am

It hasn’t made a move. When we first went into the deck, it showed clear interest in the food. But all that interest seemed to evaporate the moment it spotted us through the windows. It laid on the floor of the tank and just stared at us with one glowing blue eye. We did manage to get a good look at its body during this and found out a few things. What we thought was a twist and the end of its tail might actually just be the way it was born. The other places where it was bent seemed to be fixing themselves with the healing solution and exercise. It still looked pale and the tail color was borderline seafoam, so we know  it had to eat. We closed the windows in the room and decided to check on it later.

  
  


10:30 am

It took us a bit longer to check on the mermaid than we thought it would, but the good news is that it ate. We weren’t sure if it prefered the kelp or the fish, but the lack of kelp and fish meant that it was omnivorous. Maybe it’s an opportunistic eater. Or it was starving and desperate enough to eat anything. Either way, some of its wounds have healed and its color has improved. There’s still big gashes and holes in its tail that needs to be stitched up, but a lot of us are still worried after the last time. We decided it would be best to test its temperament before we make another operation attempt.

  
  


12:00 pm

It was a disaster! Everything went wrong! We tried to draw it up peacefully, but it wasn’t cooperating. It just stayed at the bottom of the tank not making a sound. David got frustrated and yelled at it saying his was “going to drag it up here if it doesn’t move in the next five seconds.” It moved alright, and it dragged David along with it! Everyone tried to hurry and get him out of the tank, but the mermaid kept holding him at the bottom of the tank. Everyone panicked when we saw the water start to glow and the mermaid was getting ready to kill David, but luck seemed to be with him today. The nighttime security guard, Undyne I think her name is, kicked in the door for the millionth time and slammed it against the floor. It was so freaking LOUD! I swear my ears kept ringing for at least half an hour. But it turns out that that was part of her plan. The sound reached the bottom of the tank startled the mermaid. I have never seen David swim faster in my life than when it left go of him. We pulled David out of the tank and made a rule to go in pairs and stay quiet when watching the mermaid.

  
  


3:00pm

The mermaid, as we gathered, seems to be much more territorial than we may have realized. It hasn’t tried to grab anyone else, put has hissed at anything that came into the room and has at least splashed 5 people in defiance. At this rate we worry that it will never recover. We want to help it, but it won’t let anyone get near it if they weren’t prepared to lose a limb. The closest we can get to it is close enough to throw food in the tank, and most people are scared to do that! No one even volunteered to try and feed it again after the David incident. Matter of fact, I think the boss sent him and Burgerpants in anyway since the others went home already. I only hope that Papyrus can do something about this, because if the most patient monster on the planet can’t get through to this mermaid, this thing’s done for.’

 

 

        Papyrus gulped. So it was as bad as they told him. The mermaid seemed like it would try to hurt him at the mere sight of him. That was enough of an excuse to leave, right? But the last part scared him too. He was the mermaid’s last chance at survival. If he couldn’t do it, everyone else would turn their back on the mermaid. He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t abandon anyone when they needed him most. What kind of monster would he be if he did that? Stealing his resolve, he turned on his heel prepared to march right into that room and help the mermaid. Only, he stopped at the sight through the window. The mermaid was there, just beyond the glass, staring at him. Wide eye sockets stared into his more narrow ones. The lights in its eyes were hazy yet focused, almost as if the mermaid was trying to decipher what Papyrus was. Making slow and calculated movements, Papyrus approached the glass. The mermaid’s eye lights became even more focused, but it didn’t make a move to get away. Once Papyrus was face to face with the mermaid, he hummed in thought. What was the best way to say “I come in peace!” to a skeleton mermaid? He decided to try one trick he learned as a kid and hoped that the meaning didn’t get lost in translation. Papyrus made his eyes glow a warm red orange color. The mermaid’s eye sockets widened and stared at Papyrus in newfound awe. After a few moments, the mermaid started glowing back! Its eyes started to glow a soft blue color, faint because of low magic but there none the less! Papyrus placed his gloved hand on the window, pleasantly surprised when the mermaid mimicked his actions. This was it. The sign that he needed. As they stared into each other's eye sockets, Papyrus knew that, even without trust, the mermaid was willing to give him a chance.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's late and I need sleep. What do I do? I post a chapter! XD Here's a new chapter for you guys and thanks for the support so far! \\(^0^)/


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter had no right to take this long!

Papyrus was quick to grab a few things before going into the isolation tank room. When he was done he had a first aid kit, waterproof bandages, and the dinner he had packed himself. Many of his coworkers gave him odd looks when he asked for that stuff specifically, but none bothered to question it since it seemed like he knew what he was doing. He really didn’t, but if the mermaid was giving him a chance he might as well do his best right? Right. 

 

        After a bit of trouble opening the doors while holding everything, he was finally in the isolation tank room. There wasn’t any hissing coming from the tank, but he couldn’t see where the mermaid went. He put the stuff down on the table, went to the edge of the tank, and waited. He knew it wouldn’t go well if he tried to go in after the mermaid, so he’ll just wait until it came up by itself. After a few minutes, he finally spotted some movement under the waves. Seconds later, the mermaid emerged from the center of the tank. It didn’t come up very far, just enough to where its eye sockets were above the water. It was clear that the mermaid was still unsure about him, but this simple fact that it came up at all was a good sign. Taking a bit of a chance, Papyrus laid flat on his stomach, or whatever the skeleton equivalent was, to be as eye level with it as possible. If he looked smaller maybe the mermaid would feel safer around him. The action seemed to do the trick since the mermaid came a bit closer to him and even lifted it head completely out of the water. It swam slowly closer to him, obviously uneasy but very curious. 

 

        He stayed  still until the mermaid reached the edge of the pool. It lifted out of the water just enough to fold its arms and rest its head. Papyrus wasn’t in striking distance, but he still felt like he needed to move soon. With slow movements and the quietest voice he could muster, he smiled, “HELLO, MERMAID.” The mermaid pulled away slightly from the sudden noise, but Papyrus kept talking anyway, “I HEARD THAT YOU HAVE BEEN HAVING TROUBLE GETTING USE TO YOUR NEW SURROUNDINGS, BUT DO NOT WORRY! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL HELP YOU IN THIS TRYING TIME!” The mermaid tilted its head. It was clear that it didn’t understand him, but it didn’t seem threatened by him. It seemed more confused if anything. Papyrus decided to use this to his advantage and reached for the first aid kit and bandages. Since stitching the mermaid’s tail was out of the question at the moment, he could at least try to bandage it up so that it could start recovering. After all, trying to swim around when your tail was on the verge of being seafoam couldn’t be pleasant. 

 

        Once he had the supplies safely in his grip, he started inching forward. He didn’t want to move to fast and scare the mermaid off, but he was still unsure whether or not the mermaid was going to bolt anyway. It sure seemed that way when the mermaid tried to back up once it realized that Papyrus was moving. What seemed to stop it from committing to this retreat was a small wince. Papyrus couldn’t see what could have caused the mermaid to wince, but he chalked it up to the condition of the mermaid’s tail. Guess the mermaid was in so much pain that it couldn’t pull away anymore. Papyrus eventually made it to the edge of the tank and came face to face with the mermaid. Neither of them really moved until Papyrus held his hand out to the mermaid. This was the moment of truth. If the mermaid so choose, it could drag him down into the water and kill him with no effort at all. Papyrus could only hope that the mermaid would take this sign as wanting to help rather than a challenge. To add to his non threatening approach, he started to glow again since the mermaid seemed to understand that last time.

 

        By some miracle, the mermaid took his hand and let itself be hoisted out of the water. Papyrus didn’t know if this was a choice or it was just too weak to get  away, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He worked fairly quickly to patch up the mermaid’s tail so make sure that it wasn’t uncomfortable for too long. As it sat in his lap, he took this time to look over the mermaid's tail and see what information he could gather. From a glance, Papyrus could tell that the mermaid seemed to be more shark-like than how mermaids were normally represented and was even a bit smaller than most sharks would be. Did it mean that this shark mermaid was any less dangerous? Nope. It just meant that the mermaid likely relied on its speed to hunt rather than power, and given that its tail was in such bad state meant that it was going to be in recovery for a while.

 

           When Papyrus was almost done with the bandages, he saw the mermaid open its mouth in the corner of his vision. He turned to see two rows of sharp teeth and was prepared to push the mermaid back into the water when it just closed its mouth again and laid its head on his shoulder. Was that a yawn? Papyrus felt a little silly getting scared over a yawn, but he was more surprised that the mermaid was comfortable enough to start falling asleep on him. He finished the bandage and just sat there on the side of the tank. The mermaid could leave anytime it wanted and seemed to know that Papyrus wouldn't stop it if it did, but still didn't move. "I GUESS POD INSTINCT IS STRONGER THAN WE REALIZE," he thought as the mermaid continued to basically cuddle him. He looked back at the dinner he packed and the report he had to write up, but those could wait for a while. For now, he let himself doze off after the mermaid. At some point during the night, their souls began to glow together, chasing away any bad dreams the other had.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of this chapter. Trying to get back into the swing of the story and might try something different with the next chapter. Until then, have a great day! \\(^0^)/


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